Theft deterrent systems use a variety of components to monitor retail establishments for suspicious activity and to detect losses. These systems include components such as video cameras, recorders and public view monitors (PVM) mounted at exit and entry points of the retail establishments. The public view monitors display the video from the video cameras to provide awareness to the consumers that they are under surveillance as part of a loss prevention strategy. Unfortunately, the components that make up current theft deterrent systems are typically costly and require professional installation. Furthermore, these systems require a video recorder, a PVM and extensive cabling in order to provide awareness to the consumers that they are under surveillance. It would be advantageous to have a system wherein one component is capable of video recording and displaying the video.
Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) are becoming more commonplace due to the increased needs for portable computing, remote communication and access to media content. Currently, PEDs include tablets, cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Of this group, tablets are preferred over cell phones and personal digital assistants for security due to their large screen size and high definition resolution, and are preferred over conventional laptops due to their compactness, light weight and lack of a keyboard and mouse. Tablets, while designed to be easily held for touch screen use, lack mounting structure or securing structure to hold the tablet in place in a permanent or semi-permanent manner. This is particularly disadvantageous when using a tablet as a replacement for a permanently-mounted dedicated video monitor. Thus, a theft deterrent surveillance system constructed from one or more tablet style computers in order to record and display the video being recorded is needed in the art.
Many advances in computer networking and processing technology have made it possible for portable electronic devices to include high resolution cameras that permit users to capture and record images and movies. In many cases, these images can be stored, processed, and transmitted for viewing through wired and wireless connections. However, there are many design constraints present with onboard cameras in communication devices that can limit the weight, size, expense, shape, adjustability, and overall quality of the lens system of such cameras. Consequently, many cameras in communication devices are inadequate for a wide variety of photographic needs, and thus limit the variety of photographic images that can be captured. Thus, most security systems choose instead to utilize permanently mounted cameras that include lenses dedicated to a particular type of image. These permanently mounted cameras are then coupled by wire to a recorder device, and further wired to a public view monitor which is used in conjunction with a mounting structure in order to record and display video to construct a security system. These systems are complex and expensive in nature, placing them out of reach for small business owners and the like.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a simpler solution to the separated components that combine to form most current security systems. The system should be expandable to allow the user to grow his security system as needed. The system should be simple to allow the purchaser to install the system where needed within his/her business, and should be portable to allow the user to move the system should the need arise. Thus, the present system provides a system for using tablet type computers to construct a security system that includes a tablet holder for protecting the tablet and allowing it to be mounted to a supporting structure for hands-free use. The tablet holder may include a video lens adapter to advance and add variety to the video imaging quality and field of view. The tablet holder should also prevent thieves from manipulating, reconfiguring or disabling the tablet security system. The tablet security system should also include software that is easily networked, wherein a plurality of tablets can be mounted in a commercial setting and utilized as a complete video surveillance and security system that can be monitored from a central location. The system should also provide a point of sale monitor for deterring theft, and a recorder for video playback and evidence if prosecution of a theft is needed.